Toothbrush



Oct. 4, 1949. PQLLACK I 2,483,503

TOOTHBRUSH Filed April 18, 1946' A E- P LLACZK Patented ct. 4, 1949'UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Jacob Md. Application April 18,(1C9:61,31:71:10. 563,074

1 Claim.

This invention relates to toothbrushes, and in particular to the typeintended ordinarily to be used but once and then thrown away.

Toothbrushes of relatively small cost of manufacture, intended to besold at a low price from vending machines or the like, and to be usedbut once and thrown away, have been known in the past, as exemplified inthe structures shown in the Patents 2,031,990 tow. E. D. Turner and1,611,640 to A. G. Janus. While myimproved toothbrush is primarilydesigned to be of low cost, and to be thrown away after it is used, ithas certain novel and improved features which are equally useful in moreexpensive toothbrushes intended to have a substantial life.

Among the latter features are an arrangement and spacing of twodifferent types of bristles along a concave head having a curvatureapproximatin the curve of the teeth in the jaws. Longitudinally spacedin the head are groups of bristles the ends of which form a cylindricalconcave surface, the spacing of the groups being such that adjacentgroups will engage the outer convex surfaces of adjacent teeth. Betweenadjacent groups of the above described bristles are alternate groups ofbristles the ends of which form the pointed apex of a cone, thesepointed groups being designed for cleaning the interproximal spacebetween two adjacent teeth. Thus when the brush -is manipulated with anup and down motion paralleling the teeth, the ends of some of thebristles will engage the convex surfaces of the teeth at the same timethat intermediate groups of bristles clean the spaces or recessesbetween adjacent teeth. In the ilustrated embodimnt of my invention thegroups of bristles are arranged in a single row, properly spaced for thepurpose described. Each group of bristles, having been bunched and tiedat their lower ends, is crimped between the opposing side walls of afolded onepiece handle and head made of stiff moulding paper such as isused in paper spoons and the like, the handle and head beinglongitudinally curved. In order to make my disposable, brush still moreuseful I may impregnate the ristles with an antiseptic detergent ortoothp 'te or the like so that it is only necessary to wet the brushbefore using it.

It is therefore vention to provide a novel and improved toothbrush whichdue to the shaping of the ends of the bristles, the arrang of them in anarc, and the grouping thereof is very effective for the intended purposeof cleaning the teeth,

It is another important object of my invention the primary object of myin- 2 to provide a novel toothbrush of low manufacturing cost andintended to be disposed of after using it once, in view of its lowprice. An antiseptic detergent is impregnated in the bristles so that noseparate toothpaste or the like is required.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a novel method ofmanufacture of a toothbrush or the like.

Other objects will become apparent as the de scription proceeds inconnection with the drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a brush made in accordance with myinvention, the brush being viewed from an angle slightly different fromthe position from which it is viewed in the side View of Figure 3.

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the brush shown in Figures 1 and 3.

Figure 3 is a side view of the brush of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a sectional view substantially along the line L4 of Figure2.

Figure 5 is a section through one of the bristle groups, substantiallyalong the line 5- 5 of Figure 2.

Figure 6 is a section through the handle, substantially along the line6-6 of Figure 2.

As shown in the drawings, the illustrated embodiment of my inventioncomprises an integral handle II and head l2 of a stiff moulding papersuch as is used for paper spoons or the like. In I order to have thehandle and head form an arc, as shown, the blank from which they areformed is cut from a sheet of non-planar stock, such that when the blankis bent and folded at its longitudinal center line l8 it will have ashape substantially as shown in Figures 1, 3 and 4. When folded againstitself along the center line the side walls l4 and I5 will spring outand assume relative positions substantially as indicated in Figure 6.

The completed brush has four groups of bristles l6, ll, l8 and I9,arranged in a single row in the head l2. Alternate groups l1 and I9 havetheir outer ends arranged to form a pointed cone as shown. Thelongitudinal distance between these groups is substantially the same asthe usual interproximal spaces between adjacent teeth. so that thepointed ends of their cones can fit into the spaces on the oppositesides of a tooth and the ones next to it. The other alternate groups 18and I8 have their ends cut to form substantially cylindrical concavesurfaces for engagement with the convex external surfaces of adjacentteeth, the spacing between groups It and It being such as to '22 (Figure5), The free ends of the bristles may then be cut to form the pointedconical and the concave cylindrical surfaces described. After this thebound ends of the groups of bristles are placed in the trough formedbetween the angularly disposed walls l4 and 15 in the head l2, beingsuitably spaced so that similar bristle groups 16 and 18 will beproperly spaced to engage adjacent teeth and the intermediate groups I Iand 19 having the pointed ends will engage the spaces between the teeth.The side walls 14 and 15 are then crimped together to hold the groups ofbristles assembled and fixed in the head l2. The crimping takes placeprincipally between the spaced groups of bristles, as indicated at 23,24, 25 and 26, the walls 14 and I5, where they surround the groups ofbristles, being stretched so that they form a substantially U-shaped cuparound the bristles, as shown in Figure 5. The walls 14 and [5 are alsocrimped together at 21 beyond the uppermost bristle group 19 as will beunderstood.

The groups of bristles are sufiiciently gripped by the crimpingoperation so that they will be held in place as intended, due to therelative stiifness of the paper material of the blank from which thehandle and head 12 are formed, If desired however a stronger bond may beprovided by placing melted parafiin or the like in the trough beiore thecrimping operation takes place, and allowing it to harden before thecrimping tool is removed. Other material, such as a quick setting cementmay be used instead of paraffin.

The completed brush may be made at a low cost and sold at a low price toprovide a brush for travelers or the like so that they do not have tocarry their own toothbrush, or in case they have forgotten it. The brushmay be impregnated with an antiseptic detergent solution, or toothpaste.The novel shape and arrangement of the individual groups of bristlesaffords a cleansing action not previously obtainable with formertoothbrushes.

The invention may be embodied in other specifio forms without departingfrom the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The presentembodiment is therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrativeand not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by theappended claim rather than by the foregoin description, and all changeswhich come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claim aretherefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by United States LettersPatent is:

A toothbrush comprising a body member of stiff fibrous materialembodying an elongated handle portion longitudinally curved throughoutits length and of V-shaped form in cross section, and a, head portionforming a longitudinal extension of said handle portion at one endthereof having side walls integrally joined with the divergent sidewalls of said handle portion on longitudinally continuous arcs, aplurality of tufts of bristles disposed in longitudinally spaced apartrelation between the side walls of said head portion, and said wallsbeing crimped inwardly into holding engagement with the spaced bristletufts and into contacting engagement with each other between said tuftsand constituting the sole means securing said bristle tufts in permanentfixed relation to said handle and head portions of the body member.

JACOB E. POLLACK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 898,467 Hanaway Sept. 15, 19081,059,426 Barnes Apr. 22, 1913 1,611,640 Janus Dec. 21, 1926 1,618,475Read Feb. 22, 1927 1,742,929 Ovtshenikoif Jan. 7, 1930 2,031,990 TurnerFeb. 25, 1936

